Monday, November 30, 2015

The Currier Museum of Art and Webster Elementary School are teaming up to host a shoe drive timed with the Currier’s upcoming exhibition, Killer Heels: The Art of the High-Heeled Shoe. All donations of NEW, closed-toe shoes, sneakers or boots will be distributed to elementary- and middle school-age children in need across Manchester. Sizes requested range from toddler 10 to adult men's 12.
Community members may bring shoes to the Currier Museum of Art at 150 Ash Street between December 1, 2015 and January 15, 2016.
Special thanks to the student council members at Webster for representing Manchester School District in the effort and for helping to make sure all of our schools benefit. If you have any questions, please visit CURRIER.ORG/shoes-schools-campaign-2015/ or contact Lynn Thomson, manager of family and community engagement at the Currier at lthomson@currier.org.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Hillside girls are the 2015 Division I Tri-County Cross Country champs...

This year, two of Manchester's middle school cross country teams excelled at the biggest meets of the year. Hillside coach Michelle Leonard led her Hillside Hawks girls team to an undefeated season, bringing the program back to the top, where it once was for decades.

...and the 2015 state middle school champions!

After a great early part of the season, the Hawks finished off their tremendous year with titles at the Division 1 Tri-County League meet and another title in the Large School Division of the Middle School XC State Championships. While the entire Hillside team was outstanding all season, special recognition goes out to her "A" team consisting of twins Katelyn and Keegan Pepin, Ella Tartsa, Erin Flurey, Emma Krantz, Alexandra Topic, and Fiona Doherty.

McLaughlin girls are the 2015Division II Tri-CountyCross Country champs...

McLaughlin Middle School's girl's cross-country team took home the Division 2 title at the Tri-County League meet, helping Manchester to a sweep of the events in the top 2 divisions. McLaughlin also came in 2nd place at the State Championships, giving Manchester a solid 1-2 punch in the Large School Division.

...and the 2015 state middle school runners up!

These two teams have had some great battles over the season, including at the Manchester City Championship, when Hillside edged McLaughlin by two points in one of the best city events in the past 20 years. McLaughlin was led by Morgan Nault (who challenged the Pepin twins all season) Jessica Carrier, Ryan Moran, Kelsey Comire, Maddy Petersen, Keeley Francis, and Asia Mercier.

Monday, November 16, 2015

Smyth Road Elementary School has installed its Hall of Fame and is inviting former students to share their success stories so that they, too, can be recognized!Smyth Road graduates who are featured include Manchester mayor, Ted Gatsas; two Broadway performers, Kaleigh Cronin and Max Clayton; and current Smyth Road teachers.

If you'd like to be showcased in the Smyth Road School Hall of Fame, please share with the school:

Friday, November 13, 2015

All high school students in Manchester who are at least 13 years old are invited to participate in the
2015 Congressional App Challenge! Established by the U.S. House of
Representatives, this 10-week
competition aims to encourage high school students to learn how to code by creating their own applications. The Challenge is intended to highlight the value of computer science and STEAM education. By recognizing our nation’s young programming talent, Congress hopes to shine a light on the growing importance of these skills.

Students
may work as individuals or in teams of
up to four to design and submit an app idea. Winning students will have their
apps featured on a display in the
Capitol Building, and will be honored by
their member of Congress. Congressman Frank Guinta is hosting the challenge for high school students in New Hampshire’s First District.

“The object is to inspire greatness in our next generation of science and business leaders, many of whom live right here in the Granite State," said Rep. Guinta. “We want to get the creative juices flowing. There’s no better way than a friendly competition to make that happen.”

The contest to find the Granite State’s next successful tech entrepreneur runs throughJanuary 15, 2016, and culminates with a trip to Washington, D.C., for the winner, who will be chosen by a panel of local judges.

Click HERE for more details about contest criteria and how to enter. Anyone with questions can call Congressman Guinta's Manchester office at 641-9536.

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Manchester School District has released the results of the 2014-15 Smarter Balanced assessment. Students in schools citywide took the assessment for the first time last spring.

New Hampshire is part of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC), a group of states which worked together to develop a new tool to assess English language arts/literacy and mathematics. The Smarter Balanced assessment replaces the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) in the same subject areas. Students in grades 3-8 and grade 11 took the SBAC assessment, which establish a new baseline for academic progress.

“Assessments are like academic check-ups,” said Superintendent Debra Livingston. “Smarter Balanced results provide a picture of where a student is excelling and where a student needs some extra help. Over time, a student’s success and progress can be measured.”

SBAC scores are provided in levels:

·Level 4 = thorough understanding

·Level 3 = adequate understanding

·Level 2 = partial understanding

·Level 1 = minimal understanding

Students scoring at an achievement level of 3 or 4 have met the standard of the grade level in the subject or skill.While scores of level 1 or level 2 indicate a need for further development of skills in a subject, they do not mean a student did not improve or learned less. The Smarter Balanced results also should not be compared to scores from previous assessments because SBAC measures different skills based on higher goals in college- and career-ready standards.

“New Hampshire has adopted different expectations to ensure students’ success,” said Dr. Livingston. “Assessment scores are just one tool that can inform teachers about how to adjust instruction and make sure their students meet the new standards. Teachers continue to use classroom assignments, daily observations, and grades to help evaluate overall academic achievement.”

Individual reports for students will include a breakdown of their performance in categories within each subject, along with comparisons to school, district and state averages. Parents can use the information to better understand where their child needs additional practice or to be further challenged. The results can help parents work with teachers to identify strategies that support student progress. Schools are currently working to print math and English language arts reports for each student who took the assessment.

Eighty-eight percent of Manchester students in grades 3-8 and grade 11 completed the Smarter Balanced assessment, compared to 95% statewide.

Monday, November 9, 2015

During this challenge, all employees are encouraged to fit in minutes of exercise during the busy holiday season. The goal is for the district to record as many minutes of exercise as you can — even if you are only exercising 5-minutes at a time. Every minute counts!

On November 30, the school day hours will change. The new school day hours listed below apply to all schools except Manchester School of Technology.

•The hours for MST will remain the same.
•Elementary students who eat breakfast served at school may arrive at 8:15 am.
•The drop-off times for before school care provided by our partner organizations, New Morning, 21 Century, Manchester Boys & Girls Club, and the YMCA, will not change.
•On early release days for elementary schools, dismissal remains 11:15.
•Delayed openings for weather will be two hours later than the new arrival time.The anticipated last day of school, if we don’t have more than three snow days this winter, is Thursday, June 9, 2016.

Students arrive Class
begins Dismissal

Elementary schools 8:30 am 8:45 am 2:50 pm

Morning preschool 9:05 am 9:15 am 11:45 am

Afternoon preschool 12:35 pm 12:45 pm 3:15 pm

Full-day preschool 8:45 am 9:00 am 2:00 pm

Middle school 7:20 am 7:35 am 2:20 pm

High school 7:38 am 7:45 am 2:53 pm

Beginning on November 30, all
middle school morning buses will pick up five minutes later than the current
time; all elementary school morning buses will pick up ten minutes later than
the current time.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

A free forum designed for parents and community partners is being offered as part of this year's Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference here in Manchester! The presentation will provide a broad overview of adolescent technological concerns, including cyberbullying and social networking sites.

This informational session is presented by Dr. Sameer Hinduja, Co-Director of the Cyberbullying Research Center and Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice at Florida Atlantic University.